Finding Love In a Hopeless Place
by Dasiygirl95
Summary: Grace Grimes knew they could survive this world, together. They had to. What she didn't count on, was finding love along the way. Daryl/OC with some Rick/Carl/OC family feels thrown in.
1. Never Losing Hope

**Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to my first Walking Dead fanfiction...I'm a little nervous posting this, seeing as it's been over a year since I've posted _anything_.**

**Yeah, I'm one of those authors that the idea bunnies like to run away from before I can get it down on paper (Or, in a word doc, if you will)**

**So far, it seems my little Walking Dead bunny is sticking with me, luckily. I've already got about 9 1/4 chapters of this little bad boy written out on my computer, so I'm feeling pretty good about this so far...**

**Now, as a warning before you guys go reading this and getting all outta sorts, some of the characters (Or all for I know) may or may not be OOC. I've tried to stick with their character's to the best of my abilities, but as a general warning, they may be out of character; and if that's something that bother's you, that's okay. I'm not holding a gun to anybodies head to get them to read this, after all. **

**Also, the story is not gonna following the show exactly to canon. All of the major things will still happen, of course, but my timeline isn't exact and I know some things are missing; please note I was writing this all from memory when I started the story because I didn't own the seasons, I'd watched them on netflix at my brothers house when the bunny struck. Which, I now own the seasons, but I refused to go back and change the structure of a story I was already 5 chapters into writing lol **

**Okay, I'm rambling, which is probably turning you guys off of the story and making me look like an ass, so, without farther ado...**

**Enjoy...**

...

Wiping away the sweat that was dripping into her eyes, with the back of her wrist, Grace blew out a breath between her lips as she continued to scrub at the tattered jeans in her hands. She longed to forget the task at hand and dive into the cool water of the lake that was located at her fingertips, but alas, she'd been assigned to washing clothes for the day, and she still had a sizable pile resting beside her form.

"You done with those yet, Grimes?"

Grace gritted her teeth at the rough drawl of her name, scrubbing furiously at the material in her hands as she spit out a reply-

"You got nothin' better to do, than come done here and bother me, Dixon?"

Daryl scoffed, stepping into her line of vision and dropping a tattered button-down shirt, caked in dirt and blood, into the clothes pile. "Wash that next, will ya? It's my lucky shirt."

"Lucky?" She snorted, rinsing the jeans in her hands before laying them aside to dry, fighting an eye-roll as she picked up Daryl's shirt, dipping it into the water to soak. "If it was lucky, a walker would've gotten you by now,"

"Ouch, princess! Feelin' feisty today, huh?" Daryl winced, reaching up to cover his heart with his hand, a fake look of hurt gracing his features for a moment before he took a step closer; crouching down beside of her and brushing a lock of dark hair out of her face. "How 'bout we take that mood of yours up to my tent…See how feisty you can really get?" He flirted.

This time, Grace didn't resist the urge; rolling her eyes and reaching up to push away Daryl's hand, a look of pure annoyance on her face. "I would rather get eaten by a walker."

She knew he was joking; of course, she doubted Daryl would actually take her even if she wanted him too. Sexual innuendos had become a staple in their relationship, providing them both with a bit of humor to light up the otherwise dark days.

Daryl's answering laugh echoed around the quarry, only stopping when Grace reached over and shoved his shoulder, causing him to become unbalanced and tip over onto his behind. Now, it was her turn to laugh.

"Knock if off you two! And get back to work, Grace, or so help me-" A voice broke through Grace's laughter, instantly souring her mood.

"Oh shut up Ed, if you lay a hand on me, I'll shoot you in the balls with Dixon's crossbow," She threatened; sending the large, profusely sweating man a glare that Daryl never wanted directed at him.

"I have half a mind to come over there and put you in your place, you little bitch!" Ed spat, heaving himself up from the tailgate he was using as he resting place.

Grace was pushing herself up from her crouch, ready to face Ed's wrath, when Daryl pushed her behind him, creating a wall between her and the seething man.

"You even _think _about laying a hand on her, you and me are gonna have problems." Daryl growled, squaring his shoulders, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "Understand me?"

Ed glared, nostrils flaring when he realized Daryl wasn't backing down. "Dumb bitch ain't worth it anyway," He spat before turning and walking back to the station wagon, his ass plopping back onto the edge, anger rolling off of him in waves as he glared at the pair.

Grace rolled her eyes, turning away from him and crouching down at the water edge once again, lifting his shirt out of the water to begin scrubbing it. "I had it handled, Dixon,"

"A 'thank you' would suffice,"

Grace could feel his eyes on her back as she worked, and couldn't help but take comfort in him watching out for her. Don't get it wrong, Grace is a big girl, she can handle herself. She'd done nothing but take care of herself, and her family, since shit had hit the fan; but knowing that Daryl was willing to step up and protect her whether it was needed or not, warmed her to the bone.

As much as it pained her to admit it, Daryl Dixon had become her best friend during all of this. Sure, he annoyed the hell out of her, but he was also one of the few people who could bring a smile to her face, who could make her laugh…Make her feel safe again…Well, as safe as she could feel in a world full of walkers, who would take any and all chances to kill them.

Darting her tongue out to wet her lips, she dragged the shirt across the washboard, dirt and blood turning the water around it a dark shade of brown. She cleared her throat before speaking two words that brought a smile to Daryl's face.

"_Thank you_"

…

"Aunt Grace! Aunt Grace!"

Grace looked up from her task of handing out the clothes she washed, smiling when she saw her nephew, Carl, rushing over to her with an excited grin.

Despite the fact that the young boy had lost his father, Carl was always happy. The only time he didn't have a smile on his face, was when the all to familiar cries of walkers broke through the camp…

_Supposedly lost_, Grace didn't believe for one second that her older brother was actually dead; there was no way Rick would haven given up that easily. There was no way. Rick was as stubborn as they come, and he would fight to the death to get back to his family.

Quickly plastering a smile on her face as her nephew grew closer as not to upset him, Grace called out a happy-

"What's up, bud?"

Carl was two seconds short from jumping up and down in excitement, holding out his cupped hands to his Aunt, showing her the small lizard in his palms. "Look! I found it next to the camp fire!"

"Very cool," She ruffed his hair, leaning down to drop a kiss on the top of his head, wincing slightly when his excited bouncing caused his head to hit her nose hard enough to cause a ting of pain.

"Think mom will let me keep it?"

"Why don't you go asked?" Nodding to her sister in-law, Lori, who was currently gathering firewood into a pile next to the fire pits. Carl grinned, his hands curling around the lizard gently to prevent it from falling as he took off over to his mother.

Grace laughed softly, shaking her head as she heard his excited cries to his mother. Continuing to return the items in her hands to the owners, she realized she was done to the last piece of clothing, Daryl's shirt.

She may or may not have intentionally taken longer to clean it, so Daryl would get tired of waiting and leave her in piece to go "Shoot something", as he so kindly called over his shoulder as he stalked away.

But, that also meant she had to return the item to him, instead of his normal routine of grabbing it as soon as it was washed, stalking off with it clenched in his fist and dripping wet.

Letting a sigh, Grace used the back of her wrist to wipe at the sweat on her forehead, turning to the older woman beside her, asking Carol if she'd seen Daryl recently.

"Last time I saw him, he was headed to his tent…" She shrugged, carefully folding the bundle of clothes in her arms; a smile playing over her lips as she once again thanked Grace for the freshly washed clothes.

Replying that it was no problem, that she didn't mind at all, which may or may not have been truthful; because let's face it, _everyone _hated being assigned to laundry, she bid Carol goodbye; starting her trek to find one Daryl Dixon.

…

"Dixon, you in there?"

Hearing no answer from inside the tent, and deciding against waiting for him to come back, Grace unzipped the flap and pushed it aside, poking her head inside of the tent before entering.

Dropping the shirt on top of a pile of what she assumed was clean clothes; she runs her hands over her face, grimacing at the sticky feeling on her skin. She hated the heat. Though, it did feel slightly cooler in Daryl's tent, the shade from the trees surrounding the structure providing some comfort from the scorching heat.

Blowing out a breath between her teeth, Grace stepped farther into the tent, dropping down to sit on the edge of Daryl's cot, her head hanging down between her knees as she wiped her hand across the back of her neck, once again wishing she could take a dip in the cool water of the lake.

Minutes passed, and Grace felt herself beginning to feel the all too familiar pull of exhaustion setting in. The group had been running themselves ragged the past few days. They were down a few people since some of the group had left for the city, volunteering to find supplies to bring back to camp.

Stifling a yawn, she felt her eyes beginning to slip shut, her muscles relaxing as she let herself get pulled closer and closer to sleep…

"Well, I'll be damned…Finally decided I'm better than a walker, Grimes?"

The sound of Daryl's voice startled her, and she instinctively reached for the gun in her waistband, drawling it and leveling it his head before her sleep addled brain caught up with her actions.

"Whoa, easy there, princess," Daryl laughed, holding up his hands in surrender as she lowered the gun, placing it back in the waistband of her jeans.

"Jesus, Dixon, you scared the shit out of me," She breathed, reaching up to rub the exhaustion from her eyes, holding back the yawn that threatened to slip out.

"You're in my tent, princess…What the hell are you doing in here, anyway?"

Motioning to the pile of clothes, Grace pointed out his freshly washed shirt. "Returning that, since you so kindly decided to go 'shoot stuff' before I was done with it."

He nodding, he let out a grunt in understanding, his eyes drifting back to her when she tried to hide another yawn. "Why don't you go get some rest or something?"

"Can't, got more work to do," She sighed, pushing herself up to stand from her spot on his cot, stretching her arms over her arms over her head as she finally let herself yawn.

"You look like shit." He pointed out, causing Grace to snort as he motioned to the thick layer of dirt covering her skin, and the dark bags under her eyes.

Raising her eyebrows, Grace gestured to the similar state that he was in, although he had a spatter of blood down the front of his shirt, from this mornings hunting trip, no doubt. "You're not looking so hot yourself, Dixon"

Looking down at himself, he frowned slightly before looking back up at Grace; humor playing over his features. "What are you talkin' about? This is my best look!"

Daryl couldn't help but smile, just a little, at the burst of laughter his comment had pulled from Grace. There was nothing that he enjoyed more than seeing her smile, hearing her laugh…Hell, if he would actually admit it to himself, he could say that he just enjoyed being around her…Could maybe say that he found her extremely attractive…But, no, Daryl wasn't into all of the mushy things that came along with having those feelings. So, he did the only thing he knew to do, pretend he felt nothing other than friendship for Grace...Although, being around her was making it increasingly difficult.

"I better go…I gotta get back to work," Grace sighed, gathering her long, dark, hair off of the back of her neck with her hand; grimacing at the lines of sweat that trailed down her back.

"Here, use this…"

Grace raised her eyebrow at the length of cordage Daryl was holding in his outstretched hand, muttering a soft 'thanks' as she took it from him, using it to tie her hair into a bun, knotting it loosely so she could remove it later. Walking over to the entrance of the tent, she paused, looking over her shoulder at Daryl for a moment, before stepping out of the tent. "I'll, uh, I'll see you later…"

…

"Hey darlin', you need some help?"

"Fuck off, Shane." Heaving the laundry basket onto her hip, Grace sent the man a withering glare.

Shane Walsh was her brother's partner at the sheriff's department, and liked to think he was god's gift to women. And Grace hated him with every fiber of her being.

After he so kindly informed Grace and her family that her brother was 'dead', Shane had followed her into her tent, offering her his _comfort_ in the form of sex. Grace had nearly torn his eyes out when he'd made the offer, yet, to this day, he still tried to push himself on her.

Grace would never take him up on it. She'd rather have sex with a walker than let Shane touch her. Though she couldn't say the same about her sister in-law. She knew Lori was sleeping with Shane; she'd nearly walked in on them once.

And yet, here Shane was, still trying to get into her pants.

"Aw, C'mon darlin', I'm just tryin' to help you out," He drawled, taking a step towards her and reaching for the basket.

"Fuck _off_, Shane." She growled, wrenching the basket, and herself, out of his reach. "I _don't want _your help; I _don't need_ your help. So, back _the fuck off_."

"I'm tryin' to help you out, Gracie. Why don't you show a little respect?" He glared, reaching out a wrapping his fingers around her bicep. Grace saw red the moment his flesh touched her own.

"Don't you _dare_ call me that, you son of a bitch! The day I show you respect is the day hell freezes over," Ripping her arm out of his grasp, she shoved him backward, causing him to stumble before regaining his foot. "Don't you have a married woman to fuck, Shane?" She spat over her shoulder, gripping the laundry basket tight as she made her way up the hill to camp.

…

"Hey, Carl, look at me. It's okay, baby, its okay…"

Grace swallowed against the lump in her throat as she heard Lori trying to comfort her crying son. The missing members of their group had returned; cries of joy filling the camp as families were reunited.

"How'd you guys get outta there?!"

"Thank the new guy, he saved us!" Morales grinned, hugging his wife and kids to his chest.

"New guy?" Grace's brow furrowed, arms folding across her chest. "Where is he?"

"He's in the truck…Hey sheriff! Get out here!"

The door of the truck opened, and Grace felt her world shift on its axis, blocking out everything around her. Carl's sorrowful cries, the joyful screams of families reunited. It all fell away. Her vision tunneled, and a cry of name spilling from her lips as she took of running.

"_Rick!_"

...

**And that's that for the time being...Let me know what you guys think; but please, no flames. **

**Until next time! **

**-Dasiygirl95 **


	2. Reunions

**Welcome back! And thanks for the reviews, follows, and favs! :D **

**I'm so happy you guys are enjoying this; hopefully this chapter will make you even happier :D**

**Enjoy!**

...

Her older brother caught her easily, his arms winding around her back as she buried her face in his neck, sobs of relief escaping her as she held him closer. As much as Grace didn't want to admit it, she was starting to lose hope that she would ever see her brother again, but once again, Grace's faith wasn't miss placed in her brother, and Rick Grimes came through and found his way back to his family.

"Gracie, oh thank god…" He breathed, pulling back to look his little sister in the face, brushing back her dark hair. Grace leaned into his palm, smiling at the childhood nickname that fell from his lips. Rick was the only person she allowed to call her Gracie.

"_Dad_! Dad!" Carl ran full forces into Rick's legs, sobs racking his frame as his arms wrapped around his father. Rick scooped his son into his arms, holding him close as the young boy buried his face in his father's shoulder. Lori was the next to come running over, her arms wrapping around her son and husband both.

"Oh thank god…Oh god, I'm so glad your okay," Rick sobbed, holding his family as close to his body as possible, feeling truly happy for the first time since he woke up in his hell hole.

…

Later, once it was dark and they were all gathered around the campfire, Rick told his story about how he came to be in the city…How he woke up in a hospital filled with the undead…How he walked to his home to see his family gone, along with most of their earthly possessions. How a man and his son had taken him in, given him shelter and tended to his wound…

"I'm so glad you're okay…" Grace breathed, her head leaning onto his shoulder from her seat at his side. Carl was curled up in his lap, his head resting against his chest, and Lori was curled under Rick's other arm, her head resting on his left shoulder.

"I'm glad you're okay, Gracie," He sighed, lifting his arm and pulling her into his side, dropping a kiss to the top of his younger sister's hair. He smiled down at his family, ruffling Carl's hair and pulling Lori closer, turning to bury his noise in her hair and breathing in her scent. "All of you…"

Grace felt a pang in her chest as she realized that he didn't know about Lori and Shane's deceit. He didn't know that his partner had been sleeping with his wife…

Clearing her throat, she stood up, dropping a kiss on Rick's cheek and Carl's hair. "I think I'm gonna turn in for the night…" She explained at the confused look that fell over Rick's features. Rick nodded, patting the hand she placed on his shoulder before she turned and headed for her tent.

Pausing at the entrance of her tent, her eyes flickered to Daryl's tent, seeing the soft glow of his lantern through the fabric. Raking her teeth across the flesh of her bottom lip, she sucked in a breath, questioning her sanity as she made her way across the clearing that separated their tent.

Pausing a few feet from the tent, Grace swallowed against the lump that had formed in her throat, trying and failing to calm her nerves. What was she so nervous about? It was Daryl, for god sakes. The pair had spent countless hours in each others tents before, choosing the other's company during those times when they both wanted to escape the rest of the group.

She was about to call out his name when the flap of the tent from pushed aside and Daryl emerged, crossbow in hand. His eyebrows shot up when he caught site of her standing outside of his tent. "What are you doing?"

"Are you going hunting?" She questioned, gesturing to the crossbow and the extra arrows in the case on his back.

Nodding, Daryl slung his crossbow across his back, his arms crossing over his chest. "Somebody's got too"

Grace felt annoyance prickle under her skin at his answer. Only Daryl Dixon would go hunting in a walker infested forest, at night. "You think that's the smartest idea? It's pretty dark out there…"

"I'll be fine. I've done it before," He shrugged. His eyes flicked over her features, taking in the exhausted look in her eyes, a smudge of dirt across her cheekbone, and the paleness of her skin tone. "Are you alright?" He didn't do anything to mask the concern in his voice.

"Fine, fine…I just…I actually came to ask if I could stay here tonight? Three people in a tent get kinda stuffy, and your tent stays cooler to begin with…" Grace bit her lip, trailing off as she shifted on her feet, feeling exhaustion deep in her bones. All of the emotions of the day were beginning to get to her, and she just wanted some uninterrupted sleep.

Daryl sucked in a breath between his teeth when flashes of her in his bed, under him and panting his name, sailed through his mind. _God, pull it together Dixon_. Clearing his throat, his shifted his weight, trying to will the sudden tightening of his once loose pants to go away. "That's fine. I won't be back till mornin' anyhow,"

She nodded, smiling at him softly starting over to the entrance of the tent, pausing before entering and turning to look at Daryl over her shoulder. "Hey, Dixon…Just…Be careful out there, alright?"

"Will do, princess"

…

"_Daryl, oh god…" Grace moaned, her back arching off of the grassy ground beneath her body as Daryl kissed his way down her naked torso, stopping to dip his tongue into her belly button, causing a bolt of pleasure to shoot up her spin. "Daryl, please…" _

_Groaning, he slid his hands down her sides, hooking his fingers in the side of her tattered black leggings and yanking them, along with her simple underwear, down her legs. Tossing the offending material to the side, Daryl slides his hands up her legs, fingers skimming the outside of her calf. Reaching her knees, his grasped them in his hands, gently pulling her legs apart, barring her naked core to his eyes. _

"_Oh baby…" He drawled, dipping his head down to trail kisses from her knee to her inner thigh, stopping just short of where she needed him the most, to suck a dark mark to the sensitive flesh under his mouth. _

_Grace whimpered, her fingers digging into the earth underneath her, her body begging for release. "Please, Daryl!" She begged, her hips rocking up toward him as he continued to suck at the mark on her thigh, his facial hair adding to the sensation. _

_Deciding he had teased her enough, his kisses his way up to the crease of her thigh, nipping the skin softly before pulling back to look at her. God, she was gorgeous. Her entire body was flush, and her breathing was ragged, and upon glancing down at the apex of her thighs, Daryl found that she was wet…So, so wet. "You want me, baby?" _

"_Daryl, please-ah!" _

_Catching her by surprise, and causing her to cry out, Daryl dipped his head, licking a long, slow, strip up her womanhood. Groaning at her taste, he shifted her thigh farther apart, dipping down to lick between her folds, his tongue sliding up from her entrance to circle her clit, drawling the small nub into his mouth and sucking it gently. _

_Grace arched her back, one of her hands shooting down to tangle in Daryl's hair with a wordless cry. Her breath accelerated, every muscle in her lower body tensing as she started to climb closer, and closer to her release. _

_Daryl groaned against her flesh, slides his of his hands up her thigh, circling it around her entrance briefly before slipping it inside, feeling her walls clench around the digit. Gently beginning to move his finger, he slipped a second in to join the first, curling them upward and smirking when it caused Grace to cry out again. _

_Rolling her hips against Daryl's working mouth and hand, Grace clawed at the earth with the hand that wasn't tangled in his dark head of hair. _

_With one last pump of his fingers, and the continuous sucking of his mouth, Grace fell over the edge with a scream. _

…

Shooting up in bed with a gasp, Grace took in her surroundings, confused for a moment about where she was.

Daryl's tent. She was in Daryl's tent.

But what had woken her?

She got her answer when a blood curdling scream sounded through the camp.

Ignoring the throbbing between her thighs, and her confused thoughts about her dream, she bolted up from the bed; Grace grabbed the first article of clothing she could find; which turned out to be Daryl's lucky shirt, and slipped it on. She had stripped down to the bare necessities last night in order to stay cool.

Grabbing her gun from under the pillow her head had been resting on, Grace rushed out of the tent, running towards the screams.

…

Grace reached the source of the screams at the same time Rick and a few others did, seeing Carl running out of the woods with a terrified expression of his young face. "Carl! Stay with your mother!" She screamed, pointing toward Lori as she raced off into the woods with the men hot on her heels, guns drawn.

When they reached a small clearing in the woods, the first thing the group saw was a walker feasting on the carcass of a deer.

Motioning for the others to stay behind her, Grace leveled her glock at the back of the walkers head, slowing her breathing and preparing to pull the trigger, when an arrow flew out of the woods and beat her to it, imbedding itself deep in the undead's skull.

Jumping back in surprise, Grace felt her being fill with relief when Daryl climbed out from behind a rock, jumping down to the ground, a look of disgust on his face. "That was my kill." He muttered, circling the deer, stopping at the deep wound the walker had inflected on the animal when killing it. "Think we can just cut around this part here?"

Snorting, Grace crossed her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes. "I wouldn't eat that if you paid me, Dixon," Pausing for a moment when she felt his eyes trail over her body, no doubt mentally commenting on the face she was wearing his shirt, and barely anything else. "You alright?"

"Fine." He grunted, gripping the end of his arrow and yanking it out of the deer's side with a sickening crunch. Upon confirmation that he was alright, Grace turned, her vision going red as she stomped her way back to camp.

"Goddamn it, Carl!" She yelled, storming over to the boy, who was currently being coddled by his more-than-useless mother. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of the goddamn woods?!"

Lori sprang to her feet, pushing Carl behind her body as Grace drew closer. "Hey! He's scared enough as it is, do you really think yelling at him is going to help anything?!"

Grace clenched her fist, fighting with everything in her being to resist out right punching Lori. "Your son nearly got eaten by a walker, Lori, and you're worried about him being scared?! He ought to be scared! That thing could've killed him!"

"But it didn't, he's fine. So calm the _hell down_."

Gritting her teeth, Grace looked past Lori at Carl, nodding to Carol a few yards away. "Carl, give me a moment with your mother. Now." As soon as her nephew was out of hearing rang, Grace tore into Lori, letting all of her anger at the woman bubble to the surface. "All I have _ever _asked of you is to never, _never_, let him out of your sight. And what the fuck did you go and let him do, huh Lori? You nearly let him get killed, because you couldn't watch your own goddamn son!"

Grace's voice was growing in volume, her face flushing red and her hands clenching into fists as her anger grew. "I have _worked my ass off_ to keep both of you safe, and you can't even do the _one goddamn thing _I asked of you! Where were you, huh?! Running around with your head in the clouds?! Pull your head out of your ass, Lori, and take a look at the world around you! This place is dangerous; Carl could have gotten killed today because you weren't paying attention!"

"You think I don't know that?! You think I don't know that I could've lost my son? I'm not stupid, Grace!"

Grace was about to open her mouth to retort when Rick burst through the brushes, no doubt hearing her yelling from the clearing in the woods.

"Hey! That's enough!" Rick shouted, placing himself between the two women, looking from Grace to Lori, and back again. "Someone wanna tell me what the hell is going on?"

Shaking her head, Grace ran a hand through her hair, willing her anger down to a slow fizzle as she glared at Lori over her older brother's shoulder. "Nothin' Rick."

"Didn't sound like nothin'"

"Well, it was." Looking down at her bare legs, Grace realized she was exposing far more skin than normal. Fighting the urge to tug at the hem of the shirt, Grace crossed her arms over her chest, clearing her throat sharply. "I'm going to get changed." Giving Lori one last withering look, she turned and headed back to Daryl's tent to retrieve her clothes.

…

After redressing, Grace emerged from Daryl's tent, heading back to the center of the camp to see Rick, Daryl, and a few others gathering supplies into the back of the box truck they showed up in yesterday. Growing increasingly concerned, Grace strode over to Daryl, reaching out a catching his forearm when he made to climb in the front of the back of the truck. "What the hell is going on, Dixon?"

"We're goin' after Merle. You're goddamn brother over there left him to die on a rooftop." He growled, wrenching his arm out of her grasp, heaving himself up into the back of the truck.

"What the hell are you talkin' about?" Turning to her brother, where he was arguing quietly with Shane. "Rick, what the hell is he talkin' about?"

Giving Shane one last glare, Rick turned to his sister, resting his hip against the back of the truck, running a hand over his sweat slicked face and blowing out a breath between his teeth. "I handcuffed Merle to a pipe on the roof of the department store…T-Dog was supposed to let him go, but he dropped the key."

"And now you're going back to find him?" Cursing when her brother nodded in confirmation, Grace drug a hand through her hair, tugging on the strands as she turned and kicked the tire of the truck. "You just came back, you just _found us_, and you're going to up and leave again?! What if you don't come back?! Do you have _any _idea what that will do to Carl? Do you have any idea what that will do to me?"

Her voice had lower to a whisper at the last sentence, feeling the prickling sensation in the back of her eyes that signaled a wave of impending tears. Reaching up to swipe at her eyes, Grace couldn't hold back a soft sob as Rick reached out and drew her to his chest. Tucking her face into his neck, Grace fisted her hands in the back of his shirt, breathing in his familiar, comforting scent. It brought back memories of their childhood, of playing in the park across the street from their house, and of Rick defending her against the bullies at school.

"I can't lose you again, Rick…"

Tightening his arms around his sister, Rick pressed a kiss to the side of her head, feeling the same fear she was. He didn't want to leave them, he didn't want to risk never seeing his family again, but he owed it to Daryl to help him find his brother. He knew what it was like to be separated from your sibling. "You won't. I'll be back as fast as I can, but I have to do this. I'm the one that left him there…"

Nodding against his neck, she sniffled, squeezing her arms around him tighter. "I know, I know…Just, please, _please _ promise me you'll be careful?"

"I promise, Gracie, I promise." He kissed her forehead, squeezing her one last time before pulling back. Giving her a soft smile and patting her shoulder, he made his way around the truck, hopping into the passenger's side.

Clearing her throat, Grace wiped her eyes with the heel of her palms, bushing her hair back out of her face and calling out to Daryl as he began closing the door to the box truck. "Hey Dixon…Watch out for my brother…And take care of yourself, alright?"

Daryl nodded once, his lips pressed together in a grim line. "Will do, princess." Reaching up to pulling the door down, he paused, hesitating. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say…Tell her to be careful? Tell her that he liked her? Ask her to come with him?

No.

The last thing Daryl wanted was to bring Grace into a walker infested city. The woods around camp were dangerous enough, and he worried enough about her when she was there.

Still at a loss for words, Daryl blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Hold down the fort, princess."


End file.
